Elaine Marley
Elaine Marley was a Governor of the Tri-Island Area. Her gubernatorial powers covered Mêlée Island, Booty Island and Plunder Island though she had some influence in a number of other locations too. She was an able sailor and was captain of her own ship and crew. She was a resourceful and intelligent woman and though she was seen as some to be a damsel in distress, in reality she was perfectly capable of handling herself. In combat she was an accomplished swordswoman and could throw a dangerous punch. She was the favourite relative of her grandfather Horatio Marley, who named his ship The Elaine after her. She was likely the only person that he told the truth about Dinky Island and Big Whoop. She later became the wife of legendary pirate hero Guybrush Threepwood. Some months after her marriage she handed the duties of Governor back to her estranged grandfather. Biography Elaine Marley spent many of her years in her mansion on Mêlée Island. When she inherited the title of Governor unchallenged she continued to live there and lead the people. Year after year passed and no one came forward to oppose her in elections. They would always take place with her as the sole candidate. The island population were happy with this. She became the object of affection for a dangerous pirate named LeChuck who after being invited to a dinner at her mansion, (presumably among a number of important people) fell in love with her and asked for her hand in marriage. She reportedly responded to his advances with the answer "Drop dead". LeChuck announced that he was to prove his love to Elaine by discovering Monkey Island and its fabled secret. When he left, the news got back to Mêlée Island saying that he had been killed in a storm. Elaine herself announced that she would never court a pirate. Part of her reason was that she did not wish any more foolish suitors to follow in LeChucks footsteps on her account. Meeting Threepwood and being Kidnapped During an election season, a young man by the name of Guybrush Threepwood washed up on the shores of Mêlée Island. He had a dream of becoming a pirate and set about discovering how he could do so. He learned from some pirate leaders that there were Three Trials required to pass before anyone could call themselves a pirate. One of which was to master the art of thievery. Threepwood was tasked in stealing the Idol of Many Hands from Governor Marleys Mansion. Elaine's first encounter with Guybrush was when he entered her mansion. He was caught red handed attempting to steal the idol by Sheriff Fester Shinetop before she arrived and stopped their fight. She sent Shinetop away and spoke to Threepwood alone. She told him she had wished to meet him since hearing his "fascinating name". However, Threepwood, having little to no experience with women, is too awestruck by Elaine's beauty and is only capable of speaking unintelligible noises. She was disappointed with him, but allowed him to take the idol to the pirate leaders to prove he had done what he came to do. This did not, however, prevent her from rushing to his assistance upon hearing the news that the Shinetop had attempted to drown him. Though she was too late to help him, she arrived as he saved himself. They spoke and she confessed her feelings to Guybrush; resulting in reciprocation from Guybrush who was then able to find words to say to her. She told Threepwood about her past with LeChuck and how she had promised never to get romantically involved with a pirate, but implored Guybrush to finish his pirate trials before they went any further with their new-found love. Threepwood continued his trials with a new motivation pushing him on to complete them as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, when he was ready to report to the pirate leaders that his last trial was complete, Marley was kidnapped by a very jealous LeChuck and shipped away to his hideout on Monkey Island. After he was informed of the news by the island Lookout, Threepwood banded together a ship and a crew in order to mount a rescue attempt. During the time spent beneath Monkey Island, Elaine was held prisoner in LeChucks brig unaware that Threepwood or anybody had come after her. His efforts were in vain however as Elaine managed to concoct her own escape plan and means to destroy LeChuck. Threepwood was unable to save Elaine before LeChuck's ship left Monkey Island and made port back at Mêlée Island where he intended to marry her. Having been informed of this turn of events by LeChucks first mate Bob, he decided to go after her once again and gatecrash the wedding. Threepwood arrived at the church just as the ceremony was underway. He shouted a stop to the proceedings and confronted LeChuck with his Ghost Zapping Formula. He attempted to use it and destroy LeChuck, but the spraying pump jammed. At this point Elaine rappelled into the room revealing that she had been perfectly safe for the entire time and now Threepwood was ruining her plan. She had disguised two monkeys in a wedding dress as a decoy and had found a way to brew her own ghost zapping potion which she had given to the monkeys for safe keeping. When Threepwood attempted to retrieve the second potion from the monkeys, he scared them away forcing Elaine to chase after them in order to get it back. Unarmed, Threepwood was left at the mercy of an enraged LeChuck who began beating him all over the island. Elaine managed to catch up with Guybrush once he had found a way to destroy the ghost pirate. Together they stood in the starlight and watched as his spirit form exploded against the night sky. The Quest for Big Whoop Some time after the defeat of the Ghost Pirate LeChuck, Elaine ended the blossoming relationship with Guybrush. She saw him as a bumbling fool who cared too much about his life of piracy and not enough about things that really mattered. She moved to her governor's mansion on Booty Island and continued with her gubernatorial duties from there. During that time she also took ownership of a dog and named it Guybrush Jr. after Threepwood due to its being good at sniffing out her possessions and useful for little else. A year after LeChuck was destroyed, Threepwood came to her mansion in search of a map piece to the fabled treasure Big Whoop which had originally belonged to her grandfather. Threepwood was caught making off with the map during a Mardi Gras party by her gardener and Guybrush Jr. Unaware of the real reason for his arrival, Elaine assumed he had come to apologise to her. Threepwood attempted to get on her good side, but when his intention of taking the map was revealed and that his kind words were mostly a means to an end, she became infuriated and flung the map piece out of her window letting it blow away in the wind. Threepwood immediately took chase after it. Threepwood eventually became trapped at the site of Big Whoop, dangling from a rope with the treasure in one hand after he had used dynamite to blast a hole in the ground. The explosion was so powerful and loud that Elaine heard it from her mansion on Booty Island. She immediately recognised that the sound had come from the direction of Dinky Island and deduced that Threepwood must have gone after her grandfathers treasure. Elaine immediately set out to rescue him and found him in his predicament. Curious as to what happened she asked him to tell the story. Threepwood explained the entire series of events leading up to her arrival starting from his visit to Scabb Island, going through the resurrection of LeChuck and his own search for Big Whoop all the while hanging in the pit. Unfortunately as his story ended Guybrushs rope snapped and he fell into the chasm, where Elaine was unable to follow. Threepwood was confronted by the Zombie Pirate LeChuck in the tunnels below the island and ultimately trapped in the Carnival of the Damned in the form of a child. While Threepwood wonders if this is his true reality, Elaine is left on Dinky Island worrying that LeChuck had placed a curse on him. Cursed Engagement During the time that Threepwood was trapped on Monkey Island, LeChuck began a new reign of terror. Elaine Marley moved once again, this time to Plunder Island where she commanded a defensible fort. When his forces had grown strong enough, LeChuck led an attack on Plunder Island, in his new flagship The Death Starfish bringing with him a large number of undead pirates. He intended to capture the island and more importantly take Elaine as his undead bride. He had brought a voodoo cannonball with which he intended to simulatenously kill Elaine and ressurect her as a zombie like himself, thus forcing her to accept him as the only other person in a similar condition. Shouting across the battlefield, Elaine responded to LeChuck by describing him as an "evil, foul-smelling, bile coated villain" having robbed her of the only man she had ever loved: Guybrush Threepwood. Unknown to either of them, Threepwood had managed to escape the Carnival and had coincidentally floated into the battle scene on a dodgem, hearing every spoken word. When LeChuck did notice Threepwoods arrival, he had him thrown below deck to be dealt with later. While the battle continued Elaine had no idea of what had happened to Threepwood after his capture. In the meantime, Threepwood was both able to escape from the ships hold and accidentally destroy LeChuck. Elaine met with Threepwood on the shore at the foot of the fort where he proposed to her using a ring that he had found and looted from LeChucks hold. Unbeknownst to him, the ring had been imbued with a curse designed to transform the user into solid gold. Wally B. Feed arrived on the beach just as Threepwood placed the ring on her finger and noted that he recognised it. Elaine was furious that Guybrush had given her a cursed ring and as she pulled back her fist to throw a punch, she was transformed into a golden statue. Threepwood immediately set about trying to find a cure for the curse he had inflicted on his fiance. His journey took him to Blood Island aboard The Sea Cucumber where he was to find a ring of equal value with which to replace the cursed one. On arrival, the ship was wrecked by a storm and the golden Elaine was flung inland, where Threepwood found her in a wooded area. Threepwood eventually managed to find a replacement non cursed ring and return Elaine to her normal human form at which point she was able to follow through with her punch and knock him to the ground. While she was disorientated and confused in her strange surroundings, Threepwood was able to tell her that he had saved her from her curse and brought her to Blood Island. Their reunion was cut short when it was discovered that LeChuck had not been destroyed. Rather he had survived as a more powerful demon pirate and sent his minions to kidnap Threepwood and Marley once more. They were taken to the Carnival of the Damned where LeChuck intended to use the power of Big Whoop to make Elaine his bride. In the meantime he transformed Threepwood into a child again. Both Elaine and Guybrush escaped their fates, and Elaine managed to redirect the tracks of the Big Whoop Rollercoaster allowing Threepwood to confront and destroy LeChuck one more time. After LeChucks fourth destruction Elaine and Guybrush returned to Blood Island where they got married and set off on honeymoon. Pronounced Dead and the Ultimate Insult Elaine and Guybrush return to Mêlée Island and are aghast to discover that Elaine has been legally declared dead, and as a direct consequence any gubernatorial power's she may have been in possession of are now up for election. LeChuck, upon hearing the news, feel's like the cow has just jumped over the moon and immediately nominate's himself in disguise. A factor that Elaine discover's whilst working on reversing her legal demise. Her attempt's at alerting the citizen's of The Tri-Island Area are epic failure since they do not believe her for no reason other than feeling neglected from Elaine's long absense. LeChuck defeat's Elaine in the election and immediately capture's and consequently maroon's Guybrush on Monkey Island. Whilst marooned, Guybrush discover's that resident castaway Herman Toothrot is actually Horatio Marley, Elaine's long thought dead grandfather. The two escape Monkey Island and defeat LeChuck and Mandrill. Elaine asks Horatio to take over her position as governor of the Tri-Island Area, and Guybrush and Elaine depart. The Pox of LeChuck It take's LeChuck several year's to do anything else. This time, in Guybrush's attempt to rescue Elaine, Guybrush manages to release a voodoo pox straight over Gulf of Melange, resulting in LeChuck turning straight into a human. While events separate Guybrush and Elaine, Elaine befriends the now-seemingly-unmalicious LeChuck, assisting him in returning his monkey's back to their home's (the ones he stole as guinea pigs for his voodoo spells) Elaine also attempt's to arbitrate between merpeople to get access to a cure for the pox and infected pirate's. Unfortunately, her attempt is an results in failure as negotiations break down and Elaine decides it is a good idea to participate in the battle around the Jerkbait Islands. However, as is demonstrated, fighting is never a good idea and it is unknown why she believed this would be a good idea; for she loses control after becoming infected with the pox, and travel's to Flotsam Island to sack the town and kill Morgan LeFlay, a fellow bounty hunter and a rival for a very lucky Guybrush's love. Eventually, Guybrush manages to cure Elaine's pox; but a diabolical loser of a LeChuck turn's on him and fatally stab's him, and takes schadenfreude at his death, as Elaine cradle's to poor pirate as he dies. Once's he's had enough of being mean, he decides that taking schadenfreude alone is not enough and take's Elaine captive as well. He attempt's to convince her to join him as his demon bride, although his attempt is yet another failure as she submits to LeChuck for no reason other than to acquire a voodoo cutlass with the capabilities of destroying LeChuck. Guybrush return's as a ghost and manoevres LeChuck into a position where Elaine can attack him with the cutlass. With LeChuck finally defeated, Guybrush restores himself to life using a spell with Elaine's wedding ring, and return's to Elaine. Trivia *Elaine was originally only known simply as 'The Governor' until a gag was inserted into the scene in which Guybrush crashes her wedding to LeChuck in SoMI. Guybrush could yell 'Elaine!' as a reference to the movie 'The Graduate'. Ron Gilbert liked the name so it was adopted for the character permanently. *In original designs for SoMI, Elaine was a lot more ruthless, but the decision was made to soften her up and make her a love interest. *It is possible to miss the scene in which Elaine meets Guybrush on the docks after Shinetop attempts to drown him. If thievery is the last of the three trials completed, Threepwood will instead see LeChucks ghost ship sailing away with her on board. *The original idea for the curse in CoMI was that Elaine would be transformed into a wooden figurehead. *Elaine was set to appear in The Curse of Monkey Island Movie as the captain of an Anti-Pirate Armada. This would have been a break from her in-game character as a relatively pirate friendly governor. *Elaine's original close-up portrait in The Secret of Monkey Island was modelled after LucasArts artist Avril Harrison. However, creator Ron Gilbert felt at the time that these portraits did not match the art style of the rest of the game. External links *Wikipedia page Category:Females Category:Governors Category:Mêlée Island Residents Category:Booty Island Residents Category:Plunder Island Residents Category:SoMI Characters Category:MI2 Characters Category:CoMI Characters Category:EfMI Characters Category:ToMI Characters Category:Threepwoods Crew Category:Authors Category:Captains